Great Canadian Casino to Host Inaugural Toronto WSOP Circuit Event in March

The Toronto area has produced its share of great poker players, including the legendary Daniel Negreanu. Starting next month, more local grinders will get their chance to find tournament glory as the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto hosts the first ever World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit event in the city.

The WSOP Circuit events will take place from March 22 through April 1, with eight Circuit Ring events in total during that span.

Negreanu Headlines Lineup of Poker Pros from Toronto

The series will end with a $2,000 Main Event that is expected to offer approximately C$2.1 million (US $1.55 million) in prize money.

Great Canadian Entertainment will be hosting the tournament in partnership with online poker room GGPoker, while will be the exclusive home for online qualifying tournaments for the WSOP Circuit stop in Toronto. The site will also host Brand Ambassadors for the series.

That includes Negreanu, the Toronto native who has won six World Series of Poker bracelets and is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

“I have been playing WSOP events around the world for over 25 years,” Negreanu said in a press release. “There is something quite special about being able to finally compete in one in my hometown.”

The WSOP Circuit was established in 2005 as a way to extend the World Series of Poker brand beyond the annual series in Las Vegas. In 2015, events outside the United States were grouped into the WSOP International Circuit.

Canada Has Deep WSOP Circuit Ties

This won’t be the first time that the WSOP Circuit has come to Canada. The WSOP Circuit Calgary takes place annually at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino, most recently in January 2024. Zhun Rui Chen won the Main Event of that series, taking home C$334,891 ($248,000). 

For Great Canadian Entertainment, hosting a Circuit event will help shine a light on the poker room at its new resort in Toronto. 

“This is a fitting milestone that will create further momentum for our recently opened 30-table poker room at Great Canadian Toronto,” Robert Katsavelos, general manager of the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto, said via a press release. “We are excited to welcome tournament participants from across the North American poker community and from right here in the City of Toronto and are certain that this event is going to be a huge success.”

For many players, the WSOP Circuit can provide a pathway to success that doesn’t require traveling abroad or playing in the biggest events in Las Vegas. Historically, many of the most successful Circuit players – the ones that have won the most rings – haven’t won a single WSOP Bracelet.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. Most notably, Toronto native Ari Engel has proven successful on both the WSOP Circuit and in the original series itself.

Engel holds the record for the most WSOP Circuit rings with 17 – having just captured his last ring online in Michigan this week – while also having won three career WSOP bracelets. In total, Engel has over 300 cashes at WSOP-branded events, earning $2.788 million in the process. 

(Image: courtesy of Great Canadian Toronto)